1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer-assisted data manipulation and analysis. More specifically, the present invention relates in one exemplary aspect to methods and apparatus for exchange of audience research data in a content-based network such as a cable television or satellite network.
2. Description of Related Technology
The well-known “Nielsen Ratings” are ratings determined by measuring of the number of unique viewers or households tuned to a television program at any one particular time. Nielsen ratings utilize audience measurement systems to determine audience size and other related statistics. The Nielsen system has historically been the primary source of audience measurement information in the television industry, and thus affects various aspects of television including inter alia, advertising rates, schedules, viability of particular shows, etc. The Nielsen system has also recently been expanded from only program content to advertising (i.e., Nielsen ratings may be provided for advertisements themselves).
Nielsen Ratings are generally gathered in one of two ways. One method involves asking viewers of various demographics to keep a written record of the television shows they watch throughout the day and evening. Another method involves using “set meters,” which are small devices connected to televisions in selected homes. These devices electronically gather the viewing habits of the home and transmit the information nightly to Nielsen or a proxy entity over a connected phone line or other connection.
There are several disadvantages with employing a Nielsen-like approach to gathering audience research data. A first such disadvantage is that the sample of viewers selected may not be fairly representative of the population of cable viewers as a whole. For example, in a cable network comprising four million cable viewers, a sample of any 100,000 viewers may exhibit different average viewing habits than the averages associated with the other 3,900,000 cable viewers who are not in the sample.
A second disadvantage is that static delivery makes it difficult to perfectly target an audience known to be in the market. For example, suppose that the ideal target for a sports car advertisement is the set of all consumers who like and would be interested in buying sports cars. If all that is known from Nielsen data is that 10% of the sample group has watched the auto-racing channel for over three hours in the last month, this may not perfectly correlate with set of consumers who like sports cars. This may be the case, for example, if there are some consumers who are in the market for sports cars but who never watch the auto racing channel, or if there are some viewers of the auto racing channel who have no interest in buying or owning sports cars. As such, patterns based on viewership data often imprecisely identify the desired audience.
The aforementioned prior art “Nielsen” approach is also program-specific, and this is problematic from the standpoint that this program-coupled approach is only as good as the underlying demographic correlation model.
Also, the aforementioned demographic model is often limited to one particular program. Hence, 18-30 year old females may tune in dutifully to American Idol each broadcast (e.g., Monday at 8:00 pm), but may not have any interest in watching the program immediately preceding or following American Idol, and hence may tune away (or delay tuning to that channel until the start of American Idol). Currently, no mechanism exists for accurately representing a specific demographic model not just for individual programs, but for times of the day, individual program channels, etc.
A number of other different approaches have been described in the prior art which attempt to gather and transmit audience research data. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,080 to Watanabe, et al. issued Feb. 27, 1990 and entitled “Apparatus for Collecting Television Channel Data and Market Research Data” discloses a data collecting apparatus used in a survey system in which research data such as television audience ratings and market research data is collected by a data collecting device provided in each of a plurality of panelists' homes, the collected research data is sent to a data center through telephone links, and, at the data center, the data is processed with the aid of a large scale computer to calculate desired research data. The data collecting apparatus includes a channel detector for detecting a television channel being viewed, a market research data entry device, a personal data entry device, and a data processing device for storing and processing the entered data. The detected channel data and the entered personal data are transferred to the data processing device via domestic power supply lines. The market research data is efficiently entered with the aid of a bar-code reader and a keyboard in a sequence-non-ordered manner. The personal data is entered with an entry device using infrared light. The personal data entry device may have picture-like illustration images of respective panelists so that they need not remember personal identification numbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,222,078 to Abelow issued May 22, 2007 and entitled “Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network” discloses an exemplary system wherein information is received at a central location from different units of a commodity. The information is generated from two-way local interactions between users of the different units of the commodity and a user interface in the different units of the commodity. The interactions elicit from respective users their perceptions of the commodity.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,472 to Conkwright, et al. issued Mar. 27, 2007 and entitled “Market Data Acquisition System” discloses a system and method for using inverse mathematical principles in the analysis of compatible datasets so that correlations and trends within and between said datasets can be uncovered. The present invention is tailored to the analysis of datasets that are extremely large; result from passive, privacy-secure, or anonymous, data collection; and are relatively unbiased. Correlations and trends uncovered by such analysis can be further examined by data mining and prediction portions of the present invention, which uncover and make use of interrelated rules that determine data structures. An embodiment directed toward analysis of television viewership and marketing data that does this while still respecting privacy concerns is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,393 to Bauminger, et al. issued Jan. 20, 2004 and entitled “Viewer Interaction Feedback Method and System for use with an Interactive Telecommunication System” discloses a viewer response method for use with an interactive telecommunications system. The viewer response method includes accumulating a user interaction history of a user of the system, the user interaction history including user interaction information associated with a plurality of user interaction events and providing user-sensible feedback, based at least in part on the user interaction history.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,548 to Lu, et al. issued Nov. 11, 2003 and entitled “Coded/Non-Coded Program Audience Measurement System” discloses an audience measurement system which identifies a program which is broadcast from a signal source and to which a receiver is tuned. The audience measurement system includes a code reader for reading an ancillary code of the program to which the receiver is tuned, a channel status detector for determining channel status relating to channels to which the receiver is tuned, a memory for storing ancillary codes read by the code reading means and for storing channel status determined by the channel status determining means if ancillary codes are not readable by the code reading means, and a communicator for communicating the ancillary code and/or the channel status to a central office computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,210 to Ludtke issued Mar. 13, 2001 and entitled “Method and System for Collecting Data Over a 1394 Network to Support Analysis of Consumer Behavior, Marketing and Customer Support” discloses a data collection system for use with a home AV network. The home AV network includes a plurality of consumer electronic devices communicatively coupled via an IEEE 1394 based network. A receiver device is included in the plurality of devices. The receiver device functions by receiving a broadcast data stream for displaying or playing for the user, wherein the broadcast data stream includes an identifier tag describing the identity or content of the broadcast data stream. At least one of the plurality of consumer electronic devices includes an up-stream communications link capable of sending information up-stream from the user's home. Additionally, at least one of the consumer electronic devices includes a computer system, the computer system including a processor coupled to a memory via a bus. The memory stores software which when executed by the processor causes the computer system to implement a data collection method comprising the steps of monitoring the identifier tag included in the broadcast data stream, determining an identity of the broadcast data stream using the identifier tag, and transmitting the identity of the broadcast data stream to an external monitor via the up-stream communications link.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,409 to Tetsumura issued Aug. 11, 1998 and entitled “Apparatus for grasping TV viewing condition in household” discloses an audience state measuring apparatus of a television including an existence sensor (2) for detecting the number of persons (3) near a television receiver (1), a setter (4) for registering who is or are watching the program which is being broadcasted and an alarm lamp (6) for reporting that the number of persons from the existence sensor (2) and the registered number from the setter are inconsistent. This apparatus makes it possible to determine who among one family is or are watching the specific program which is being broadcasted and to measure accurately the individual audience state because non-registration in the setter (4) is reported to the persons (3).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,751 to Levitan issued Apr. 8, 2008 and entitled “Error handling and audience measurement in datacast network with return channel” discloses a data broadcast network with a return channel providing a guaranteed error-free data delivery simultaneously to multiple receiving devices. The network transmits data in packets and uses the return channel for audience measurement and packets recovery. Whenever a corrupted packet is detected, the multiple receiving devices play a kind of “lottery game” running generators of random numbers, and only “winners” submit retransmission requests over the return channel. While in the game each receiver acts on its own, it is advised by the sender on the audience size, i.e. the overall number of receivers. It allows setting the game so to limit the number of retransmission requests to just a few and to keep it independent from the audience size. The sender performs the audience measurement by transmitting packets with wrong error-checking values and evaluating receivers' responses.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,039,928 to Kamada, et al., issued May 2, 2006 and entitled “Method and device for obtaining audience data on TV program” discloses a TV program table data in the area where a viewer resides are received through the Internet or a broadcasting medium by using the TV set with an internet connection function at the viewer. While the viewer is watching a TV program, the audience data including viewed channel information and viewed time information are automatically obtained. The obtained audience data are compared with the TV program table data to identify the watched program. The program ID of the identified program and the viewed time information are transferred to a data collecting center through the Internet together with the viewer ID data. By utilizing the Internet for the distribution of the TV program table data to the viewers and for the collection of the audience data, the nationwide TV audience data can be easily collected and used to make statistics. Since viewed channel and viewed time information are correlated with programs on the viewer's side, the load of processing the data on the center side can be relieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,089 to Aust, et al., issued Oct. 15, 2002 and entitled “Audience measurement system incorporating a mobile handset” discloses an audience measurement system for a receiver comprises monitoring equipment, such as a decoder, ON/OFF detector and transmitter, coupled to the receiver. The decoder reads program codes embedded in a program received by the receiver. The system also comprises a base unit and a mobile unit, such as a telephone handset. The handset receives the program codes transmitted from the decoder and prompts (via a visual display or audio tone) an audience member to enter personal data (i.e. who the audience member is) via a keypad or voice input. The program data (from the decoder) and personal data (input by the audience member) is provided to the base unit, where it is time stamped and stored. The base unit includes telephone circuitry to transmit the stored data to a data collection central facility via a public switched telephone network. If no program codes are found or if the monitoring equipment is eliminated, the mobile unit prompts the audience member to enter program data that may be selected from a previously downloaded program schedule.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,299 to Massetti issued Oct. 26, 1999 and entitled “Audience rating system for digital television and radio” discloses an audience rating system for digital television and radio, using identification codes in control streams of time-multiplexed digital transmissions. When a television set or radio, that is being monitored pursuant to the system, is turned on and tuned into a channel, and each time that the channel is changed, an identification code for each audio, video or auxiliary digital stream of the channel is extracted from the control stream, and recorded along with the time. The time is also recorded when the television set or radio is turned off. This data makes it possible to determine what stations, channels, and programs members of the audience being monitored are watching or listening to at any particular time. In the first preferred embodiment, the multiplexed digital transmission is received separately by the television set or radio (or an attached IRD) and a meter connected to it. The meter compares digital streams of the channel being received by the television set or radio with digital streams of each of the channels in the multiplexed digital transmission, until it finds a match. In the second preferred embodiment, the meter does not receive the multiplexed digital transmission separately, but has access to elementary streams extracted from the transmission by an IRD, and extracts identification codes for the channels being received from their elementary streams. The elementary stream may be accessed through an auxiliary connector in a digital decoder, through an access control card connector, or through soldering electrical connections to internal points in the IRD.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,642 to Leroy, issued Sep. 22, 1998 and entitled “Audience response monitor and analysis system and method” discloses a system and method are provided for monitoring and analyzing audience response to a broadcast promotion. The specific embodiment for fund-raising campaigns for public television stations is addressed, wherein the taking of pledges over the telephone is automated, the response data entered directly into a computer with the use of scripted screens. The effectiveness of segments of the campaign is calculated by correlating the response data, including the number of telephone calls received, with each promotion segment. Additional methods of manipulating and displaying response data are also disclosed, including the use of demographic and audience ratings to provide an indication of the effectiveness of a promotion segment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,185 to Dufresne, et al., issued Mar. 5, 1996 and entitled “Remote control system for television audience data gathering” discloses a method and apparatus of collecting data from a television audience comprising storing in a first memory demographic descriptions of expected viewers of a television receiver, receiving signals from a viewer control operated by a viewer, displaying one or more indicia on a television screen for viewing by the viewer, designated by the character of the signals received from the control, in confirmation of the particular signal received from the control, and storing a signal in a second memory for later access corresponding to at least one form of the designated signal character, which is related to the designation of at least one selected expected viewer as an active viewer. The television viewer may use his remote control at any time, when the flashing prompt is flashing, or when it is not flashing, to change channels. There is no channel lock nor is there an annoying on-screen prompt enquiring as to the identity of persons in the viewing audience.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294 to Thomas, et al., issued Jan. 2, 1996 and entitled “Audience measurement system utilizing ancillary codes and passive signatures” discloses an audience measurement system collects data representative of tuned programs rather than of tuned channels, and includes (i) a household metering apparatus which records ancillary codes or extracts program signatures from the programs if no ancillary codes are found therein, (ii) a reference apparatus which monitors broadcast programs to be monitored, which extracts reference signatures therefrom, which records whatever ancillary codes may be associated with these broadcast programs and, if no ancillary codes are present, which compresses and stores a digital replica representative of the broadcast programs to be monitored, (iii) a data collection apparatus which compares the household and reference data to determine (a) which of the broadcast programs to be monitored were selected for viewing and/or listening, (b) which of the metered households selected the broadcast programs to be monitored for viewing and/or listening, and (c) at which times the broadcast programs to be monitored were selected for viewing and/or listening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,315 to Dufresne, et al., issued Dec. 13, 1994 and entitled “Television audience data gathering” discloses a method and apparatus of collecting data from a television audience comprising storing in a first memory demographic descriptions of expected viewers of a television receiver, receiving signals from a viewer control operated by a viewer, displaying one or more indicia on a television screen for viewing by the viewer, designated by the character of the signals received from the control, in confirmation of the particular signal received from the control, and storing a signal in a second memory for later access corresponding to at least one form of the designated signal character, which is related to the designation of at least one selected expected viewer as an active viewer. The television viewer may use his remote control at any time, when the flashing prompt is flashing, or when it is not flashing, to change channels. There is no channel lock nor is there an annoying on-screen prompt enquiring as to the identity of persons in the viewing audience.
United States Patent Publication No. 20060294259 to Matefi, et al., issued Dec. 28, 2006 and entitled “Method and device for audience monitoring on multicast capable networks” discloses a cheap solution for audience monitoring in multicast capable networks e.g. Ethernet, IP or UMTS. There is no need for user equipment in order to monitor the viewers' watching behavior. The measurement is done in the operator's network; therefore, there is no need to contact the end user. The idea can be applied in systems comprising multicast capable network contention server, network devices and user equipment. The content is carried in data packets to the end user. The network devices are remote manageable. The user can choose between several contents. The aim is to measure the user statistics regarding the chosen content. According to the invention it is enough to place a measurement host with our proposed software block in the network, which collects data from the network devices in the edge of the network periodically in order to make a content access survey.
Despite the foregoing approaches, there is a need for improved methods and apparatus which more accurately, securely and uniformly generate and exchange audience measurement data. Such improved methods and apparatus would ideally be adapted to produce data records in real-time with associated viewership actions. Ideally, these methods and apparatus would be able to monitor multiple sources of content to which viewership behavior relates, would leverage substantially extant network infrastructure and components, and would be compatible with a number of different client device and delivery systems including both wired and wireless technologies.
Subscriber anonymity or privacy (i.e., no use of personally identifiable information) would also ideally be maintained.